Alibaba.com shares up after parent's Alipay deal with SoftBank, Yahoo

Two men chat beside a logo of Alibaba (China) Technology Co. Ltd at its headquarters on the outskirts of Hangzhou, Zhejiang province May 17, 2010.
REUTERS/Steven Shi/Files

By Lee Chyen Yee and Melanie Lee| HONG KONG/SHANGHAI

HONG KONG/SHANGHAI Shares of Alibaba.com Ltd rose to a two-week high on Monday after its parent, Chinese e-commerce firm Alibaba Group, forged a complex deal with SoftBank Corp and Yahoo Inc over mobile payments unit Alipay.

Alibaba.com, the only listed unit of Alibaba Group, rose as much as 7.37 percent to a two-week high of HK$11.66, outperforming the Hang Seng Index's 1.39 percent gain.

"I don't think the rise has anything to do with the listed company, it has more to do with the parent company managing to settle the Alipay issue with its two major shareholders," said Elinor Leung, a Hong Kong-based CLSA analyst. "Net-net it is good for the entire Alibaba Group development so you don't have the (risk) overhang anymore."

Alibaba, Yahoo and Softbank on Friday announced a deal that would see Alibaba receive up to $6 billion in the event that Alipay is listed or sold.

The deal capped months of intense negotiations sparked by the transfer of Alipay to a company wholly owned by Alibaba Group founder Jack Ma.

Alibaba Group said the transfer was necessary for Alipay to comply with domestic regulations in order acquire a license to continue operating as an e-payment service. Yahoo said in May that it was not aware of the transfer, while Alibaba countered that it had kept Yahoo and Softbank board members in the loop.

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